Around 10 a.m., when Vinesh Phogat’s flight from Paris arrived in the Capital, 10-year-old Anshaj Kumar from Balali was assigned to guard the temple, which had 750 kg of desi ghee laddoos.
It’s been a long day for 10-year-old Anshaj Kumar, a resident of Balali, Vinesh Phogat’s village in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri district, located a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Delhi. Around 10 a.m., when Phogat’s flight from Paris landed in the Capital, Anshaj was assigned to guard the temple, which held 750 kg of desi ghee laddoos.
Phogat’s arrival was delayed until past midnight, over 12 hours after she left Delhi airport. Along the way, every village in Haryana wanted to honor her, making it impossible for her to bypass the cheering crowds.
Throughout the day, Anshaj sat in a corner of the stage prepared for Phogat’s celebration, diligently recording voluntary donations from villagers in a single-line school notebook. The notebook tracked contributions for their “chhori,” who narrowly missed winning a medal at the Paris Olympics. As the laddoos diminished, the totals in his ledger grew.
